The Way I Loved
by everything's okay
Summary: She needs the rush she only feels with him. She's not okay, though she's great at pretending. He wants to be there, fix her and love her. They both care, always have and always will. But is their past enought to feul their future? Nick&Miley
1. Chapter 1

They Way I Loved You.

He was too sweet. Too loving and too caring all the time. Not one single fight. Nothing to keep her on edge, to keep her on her toes at all times. She missed it, all the time. No screaming, no crying, no running and hiding. He was too sweet.

"You're so beautiful, babe. I love you," he whispered into her ear.  
>"Love you too, Liam."<p>

He rubbed circles softly on her bare arm just like _he_used to do whenever she was upset. She was comfortable with Liam. He was her safe haven. Somewhere she could land when there was a little too much turbulence up in the air. Liam cared deeply for her and loved her dearly. And Miley practically adored him and she'd do anything for him. But she needed that rush. When you fight and you have no clue if you're still going to be together the next day. The thrill, like when you're climbing up the huge slip on a rollercoaster and when you reach the peak, you feel your heart racing in your chest and when the drop causes your stomach to drop and your heart to stop beating. She needed that. Needed to spice it up.

* * *

><p>"Do you need any help Tish?"<br>"No thanks, sweetheart. I've got it. Dinner will be ready in a few. Can you call Miley and the others?"  
>Liam ran up the stairs and knocked on the closed doors of three people who were still living in the house.<br>"Dinner guys!"  
>Miley ran out of her room and jumped on his back, the force almost knocking them both over.<br>"Take me to dinner, my horsey!" She said with a fake British accent. He chuckled at her childish antics and galloped down the stairs. He loved this family and this house felt like a second home to him. Everyone filled into the dining room and day at they respected spots. Dinner went on peacefully for the next hour. Everyone was laughing at jokes Liam told and he and Billy Ray had talked about the stock markets while the ladies busied themselves talking about shopping. The relationship was comfortable for the both of them. Spending time together was like a second nature to the couple. Liam took Miley's hand from under the table. She looked over at him, her smile genuine and showing her pearly whites.

* * *

><p>Ring. Ring. Ring.<p>

Pick up, he thought. He was angry, fuming to be exact. You could practically see the smoke pour out from his ears like a steam whistle train. He couldn't believe her! She was acting like some messed up teenager. Okay, maybe she was a teenager but she sure as hell wasn't messed up. There was no excuse this time. No little white lie she could make up. No way to get out of the situation she put herself in. Little children look up to her, teenagers look up to her. And when they see her doing dumb crap like that they will think it's alright for them to do the same. She's perfectly happy with her perfect tall and hunky boyfriend, her perfect family and living her goddamn perfect life. Whatever, why should he care anyway? She just some ignorant girl who liked to make him feel like he was on could nine then bring him to he'll in one second. His thoughts were cut off by the sound of her angelic voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

She sighed in frustration, bringing him back down to Earth. He coughed, and then steadied his voice. He didn't want her to know how furious he was with her just yet.

"Sorry, it's Nick. How could you do something like that, Miley?"  
>His voice came off as kind of sad; he mentally slapped himself for sounding so vulnerable.<br>"What ever do you mean, Nicholas?"  
>She laughed like a cold winters wind gusting wildly. It chilled him to the bone and he shivered from the intensity in her voice.<br>"You very well know what I mean Destiny. Why do you want to do that to yourself?"  
>"Get over it Nick. It was one stupid night when I wanted to forget everything. I can't help it if I want to escape my life for ten fucking minutes. God, why are you always in my business? Just leave me alone,"<p>

Why would she want to escape her life? She had it all. The fame, the money, the perfect boyfriend, the millions of screaming fans, the voice of an angel and so much more. She herself was the definition of perfection.

"Miley, c'mon! I'm pretty sure that you've done it more than once. Do you know how much that could ruin your voice? Hell, who cares about your voice? Do you know how much trouble you're causing your organs by doing that?"

He raked his free hand through his curls furiously. Did she not know the consequences smoking would cause her later on in life?

"Why do you care, Nick? You haven't cared for the past year. You didn't even call me when there were rumors out about my parents getting divorced. And you knew, you knew very damn well, that I was falling apart. But now, just because Anna video tapped me smoking and put it on the internet, you think you can show up and lecture me? Nice try, I don't need you. I never needed you,"

His mouth was agape. How could she say all those things? He knew he was in the wrong this time, just as much as she was. But he didn't want to face it. Even more, face her. That's why he called her. He took the coward's way out. What kind of man was he?

"Miles, don't be like that. You know I always cared for you. And I always will. But you're only hurting yourself by doing what you're doing,"

"Why are you talking in code, Nick? Why can't you just say marijuana? Pot? Weed? Gunja? Are you too good to even say those words?"

After a long pause on his end of the line, he sighed. Knowing, once again, she was right.

"What would your Papi say if he saw you now, Miley? Would he be proud of you? C'mon, you know this is wrong. Why are you putting your body through this?"

He thought he heard her sniffle, but he chose to ignore it.

"Don't even go there, Nick. That was _so_out of line! I really just want to hang up on you now,"

Her voice quivered and Nick instantly felt bad for bringing that up. He ran a hand over his face in frustration. This wasn't how he wanted this conversation to end up.

"Then hang up, Miley. Nothing's going to change you any –"

Before he could finish the sentence he heard the dial tone. He hung up the phone and slammed his hands against the table. It wasn't supposed to be this way. He was supposed to always be there for her. Be her rock, her support system. But he wasn't. She'd walked out of his life and he didn't even chase after her. He wanted to fix her, make her better. But it seemed that every time they spoke it ended up being a fight. No matter how hard they tried.


	2. Chapter 2

The Way I Loved You.

"Let's go out. You never want to go out anymore,"

"Sorry, Liam. I'm not feeling up to it today. Maybe some other time,"

"What's wrong with you lately? You're not yourself these days, Miles!"

"You know, I have to go. Bye,"

Miley hung up, her heart aching. She just knew he was going to break up with her sooner or later. He hated her now, obviously. Just like everyone did. She'd spent the whole night before crying her eyes out like she'd just gotten her heart broken for the first time. She was feeling so ashamed of herself. Ashamed of what she was doing to her body and what she was doing to her family. Yes, call her crazy but, she thought she was the reason her parents had been fighting non-stop. Lately she'd been hanging around with the wrong people. Getting pressured into doing things she knew she'd regret, and things she knew were so wrong. Who cares right? The Jonas family had dropped her once her and Nick broke up, Demi's career was at its peak and then she went into rehab so they didn't talk anymore, Selena had always hated her, she'd dropped Mandy once she got with Justin and she's pretty sure her father hated her for acting out all the time. Liam and her mother were the only ones she had left and now she wasn't sure if she even had them.

Nick's words from the night before were ringing through her mind since she hung up on him. Did he think he could just call her and lecture her then everything would be better again? That she would turn back into that innocent 14 year old girl who was full of life and life? Psh, yeah right. She didn't like her new image, but she wasn't going to change just because _Nick Jonas_wanted her to. She'd done that once before, and man, she'd be damned if she did that again.

* * *

><p>Of course he still cared for her. But that didn't mean he supported her actions and life decisions. He was over her, obviously. He'd been over her since 2007. Maybe that was a little white lie.<p>

He knew she wouldn't listen to him. No matter what year it was, what clothes she wore, who she hung out with or if they were together or not. So maybe he should stop trying. Well, he wouldn't. Call him crazy - his family did - but he wasn't giving up this time. It might've seemed like he did give up on her many years ago, but in his heart he never did. Not once, not ever.

He didn't know why he was up at 2:30 in the morning, but he was. He was quietly plucking at the strings of his guitar. Music was the only thing that made sense to him. It kept him sane, practically saved his life. He set the guitar down, planning on getting some much needed sleep. The phone on the nightstand beside his bed started to ring. The light of the small object illuminated his room. His silently cursed because of his obnoxiously loud ringtone. He picked up the phone, whispering a hello.

"I made a big mistake. I need you. Please,"

"Miley?"

Why was she calling him at 2 am? What was she talking about? What big mistake? Questions danced around in his mind as silence engulfed the both of them. Then she started crying. Her chocking sobs brought him back to reality.

"Please, Nick. Just – I … come pick me up. I need you,"

"What's wrong, Mi?"

The only sounds were her cried of distress as she cried out into the phone.

"I'm at the corner of Elm and River. Please," her voice cracked as she spoke.

"I'm coming now, don't go anywhere. Okay?"

She sniffled, there was a muffled sound on her end of the line.

"Alright,"

Nick quickly shoved his phone and car keys into the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt and pulled a pair of sweatpants over his boxers. He quickly tiptoed out of his room and down the stairs of his parents house – he was only staying for the weekend – and outside to his car. He sped down the familiar roads and he knew that he would get a serious speeding ticket if a cop pulled him over right about now. Did he care? Not one bit. He pulled up to the corner of the downtown L.A street. He got out of his car and looked around. About ten feet in front of him, he saw her. Curled up in a ball on the sidewalk. As he got closer he started calling out her name. He didn't approach her because he didn't know if it was Miley or not. The figures back was facing him but he had a strong feeling that it was her.

"Miles, is that you?" He stopped five feet in front of her.

Miley turned her head as she heard his velvet voice. Just the sight of him caused her to cry even more than she already was. How can that be possible? She didn't know. Slowly, she stood up. The duo just stared at each other as she cried silently. He ran a hand through is already messy curls. He couldn't bear seeing her like this. This wasn't the normal happy, crazy and high on life Miley he used to know. She was worn down. Torn apart. **Broken**.

She needed to be close to him again. Needed to feel his strong arms wrap around her small body. Needed him to tell her that everything would be alright and that she's beautiful in every single way imaginable. Without giving it another thought she ran towards him and he looked scared. He probably thought she was going to punch him or something. Yeah right.

Nick opened up his arms and Miley jumped into them. He closed his arms around her petite frame and held her close. He never wanted to let her go. He didn't know how long they were standing there for, but it felt like eternity and the idea of him holding Miley for the rest of his life was a comforting thought to him. He placed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"It's going to be okay. Don't worry,"

She pulled her head away from the spot on his chest. The sadness in her ocean blue eyes was completely palpable and it broke his heart into a million pieces.

"How do you know?"

"Everything gets better in time,"

Miley sighed, not happy with his answer. Everything had gotten _worse_in time. And she was absolutely sure nothing would ever be the same again. She'd always be this miserable girl that everyone hated.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

"I don't have a home," she mumbled angrily under her breath.

Nick's eyebrows knitted together.

"What do you mean?"

"My dad kicked me out. He found out about the drugs, the alcohol and the clubbing. I know – I'm a terrible person and I deserved it," her voice cracked. In that moment – when she looked up at him with tired eyes – she was so vulnerable and she was basically an open book.

"Miley, you don't deserve anything that is happening to you. You deserve the best things the world has to offer. You gotta believe me,"

When she didn't respond he pulled her close once again, holding her tightly. She breathed in his scent and closed her eyes.

"Liam broke up with me," she whispered into his muscular chest.

Nick tried to contain his smile, but he failed. Pure happiness coursed through his buzzing veins. He felt like a kid on Christmas morning who just opened the gifts from Santa Claus.

"I'm so sorry,"

"I know. But I'm over it,"

They spent the whole night driving around town. They didn't need to speak those three words that were at the tip of both teen's tongues. They just knew. The look in their eyes could speak a thousand words. As they sat on a park bench at 6 am she knew that things would be okay. She'd overcome all the problems she'd been facing for the last couple of years. There was no doubt in her mind. With his arm around her shoulder, her head on his chest and the rising sun in front of them; she knew everything would work out. Exhaustion had taken over, and before she drifted off he spoke the words she'd be waiting to hear all night.

"I love you, Miley."


End file.
